After 34 Years, Grandma's Miller Hill Closes as Green Goods Eyes Second Duluth Location
Thirty-four years is a long run for any restaurant. On May 3, 2026, it ended at 2202 Maple Grove Road in Duluth, where Grandma's Saloon and Grill at Miller Hill served its last meal and handed the keys to Vireo Growth Inc., the Minneapolis-based company behind Minnesota's Green Goods cannabis chain. What happens next is not yet official, but the direction is clear: one of Duluth's most recognizable restaurant brands is making way for a licensed cannabis dispensary.
Why Grandma's Is Walking Away From Miller Hill
The Miller Hill location at Maple Grove Road near the Miller Hill Mall opened in 1992. For more than three decades it anchored what was, for a time, a thriving late-night strip driven by mall-adjacent foot traffic and a bar and restaurant culture that surrounded it. The pandemic changed that calculus permanently.
Brian Daugherty, president of the Grandma's Restaurant Group, described the decision in direct terms when the closure was announced. The late-night dining and drinking culture that had made the Miller Hill location work simply did not come back after COVID. Consumer habits shifted, and consolidating made more sense than continuing to operate a location that no longer fit how Duluth's dining economy works.
Grandma's is not closing across the board. The Canal Park flagship, Little Angie's Cantina and Grill, Bellisio's Italian Restaurant, The Garden Wedding and Event Center, Adventure Zone Family Fun Center, and the Virginia location all continue operating. Employees from Miller Hill were offered the opportunity to transfer to those remaining properties. The restaurant group is contracting, not shutting down, and the Miller Hill sale appears designed to fund a tighter, stronger operation across the remaining locations.
Who Is Vireo Growth, and What Is Green Goods?
Vireo Growth is a Minnesota-rooted cannabis company that operates eight Green Goods dispensaries across the state. The company was an early entrant into Minnesota's cannabis market, opening its Hermantown location in November 2020 when the state's medical-only program was the only legal market. When Minnesota's adult-use framework launched retail sales in September 2025, Vireo's existing licensed locations were among the first to begin selling recreational cannabis to customers 21 and older.
The Hermantown store at 4960 Miller Trunk Highway, Suite 300 is already the nearest licensed cannabis dispensary to much of the Duluth metro's western and northern neighborhoods. Miller Trunk Highway and Maple Grove Road are less than two miles apart, both sitting in the retail corridor that extends west from downtown toward the Miller Hill Mall area.
Adding a second Duluth-area location at 2202 Maple Grove Road would give Green Goods two stores within a short drive of each other, which may seem redundant on a map but reflects a retail logic common in mature cannabis markets: high-traffic corridors support multiple storefronts because customers do not necessarily drive past one dispensary to reach another. The Hermantown store serves customers arriving via Miller Trunk; a Miller Hill store would capture a different slice of the Duluth traffic pattern.
What Comes Next for the Building
As of the closing date, Vireo representatives had not released a public timeline or specific plans for the property. The company confirmed the purchase and indicated the building would be used for cannabis retail serving both medical patients and recreational customers. No renovation timeline, opening date, or product menu was announced.
The building's history as a restaurant creates some practical conversion considerations. Cannabis dispensaries require specific security infrastructure, ventilation, and sometimes separate waiting and retail areas under Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management regulations. The timeline from acquisition to opening for conversions like this typically runs several months. A late 2026 opening would be a reasonable working assumption, though no date is confirmed.
For context on what Green Goods' Hermantown location currently offers and what a Duluth-area Green Goods visit looks like, see the full Green Goods Hermantown listing on MN Cannabis Hub.
Duluth's Cannabis Market in 2026
Duluth entered the recreational cannabis era in September 2025 when the first non-tribal adult-use dispensaries opened statewide. The city now has several licensed retailers, including Legacy Cannabis on West Superior Street and the already-established Green Goods Hermantown location to the west. The addition of a Green Goods at Miller Hill would make the Duluth metro one of the better-served cannabis markets in greater Minnesota, with options across the Canal Park, West End, and Miller Hill retail zones.
Duluth's cannabis landscape reflects trends playing out across the state. Minnesota's adult-use market crossed $64 million in sales since its September 2025 launch, according to Grand Forks Herald reporting, with 80 or more licensed retail locations open statewide as of spring 2026. For a full picture of what is open in the region, visit the Duluth cannabis dispensary guide.
The Broader Pattern: Retail Converting to Cannabis
The Grandma's sale is part of a pattern visible across Minnesota and the broader Midwest. Former bars, restaurants, retail stores, and even fast food buildings have been purchased or leased by cannabis operators as the industry looks for existing commercial real estate in high-traffic locations. Waabigwan Mashkiki converted a former Burger King in East Grand Forks into its newest dispensary, which opened May 1, 2026 -- four days before Grandma's closed. That store's story is covered in our East Grand Forks opening report.
The economics make sense from both sides. Property owners with buildings that no longer fit post-pandemic hospitality demand find cannabis operators willing to pay for locations with parking, visibility, and existing infrastructure. Cannabis companies find themselves saving the cost of building from scratch while inheriting a known address in a neighborhood where people already know how to get there. A former Grandma's on Maple Grove Road is a recognizable landmark. That is worth something in retail.
It also reflects where Minnesota's cannabis market is maturing. The first wave of dispensaries opened in spaces purpose-built or adapted from small commercial units. The second wave is going after larger footprints with established addresses, which is exactly what the Miller Hill Grandma's is.
What This Means for Customers
For cannabis consumers in the Duluth area, the practical implication is a future second Green Goods option in the Miller Hill corridor. No products, pricing, or services have been announced for the location, so it is too early to know whether the future store will differ meaningfully from the Hermantown operation in terms of menu, delivery, or curbside services. Green Goods' Minnesota stores generally carry flower, edibles, pre-rolls, vapes, and concentrates from licensed Minnesota cultivators and manufacturers.
For Grandma's regulars, the Miller Hill location is permanently closed. The Canal Park location on South Lake Avenue remains Duluth's flagship Grandma's and continues full service. The Virginia restaurant also continues operating.
For the city of Duluth, it is one fewer vacant commercial building in the Miller Hill area, one more licensed cannabis retailer expected to generate city and county tax revenue, and a continuation of the real-estate churn that follows any major industry disruption -- in this case, one driven equally by COVID's lasting impact on late-night dining and cannabis legalization's appetite for visible commercial space.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grandma's Saloon at Miller Hill in Duluth permanently closed?
Yes. Grandma's Saloon and Grill at 2202 Maple Grove Road in Duluth permanently closed on May 3, 2026. The property was sold to Vireo Growth, the company behind the Green Goods cannabis chain. Other Grandma's locations, including Canal Park and Little Angie's, remain open.
What is going into the Grandma's Miller Hill building?
Vireo Growth purchased the building to convert it into a Green Goods cannabis dispensary. As of early May 2026, the company had not announced a specific opening date or renovation timeline. The location is expected to serve both recreational customers (21+) and registered Minnesota medical cannabis patients.
Who is Vireo Growth?
Vireo Growth Inc. is a Minneapolis-based cannabis company that operates the Green Goods dispensary chain in Minnesota. The company currently runs eight Minnesota locations, including Green Goods Hermantown at 4960 Miller Trunk Highway, Suite 300, which has served the Duluth metro since 2020.
Is there already a Green Goods in Duluth?
Yes. Green Goods operates a location in Hermantown at 4960 Miller Trunk Highway, Suite 300, just west of Duluth. The Hermantown store is open Monday through Friday 10 AM to 8 PM and offers recreational and medical cannabis products. The future Miller Hill location would give Green Goods a second Duluth-area store.
Where can I find cannabis near Miller Hill Mall in Duluth right now?
The nearest licensed dispensary to Miller Hill Mall is currently Green Goods Hermantown at 4960 Miller Trunk Highway, Suite 300 -- roughly two miles west. See the Green Goods Hermantown listing for current hours and phone number.
Why did Grandma's close the Miller Hill location?
Grandma's Restaurant Group president Brian Daugherty cited the lasting impact of the pandemic on late-night dining and bar culture near the mall. Post-COVID consumer habits shifted in ways that made the Miller Hill location less viable. The company is consolidating to its remaining Duluth locations, including Canal Park.
When will the Green Goods Miller Hill dispensary open?
No opening date has been announced as of May 3, 2026. Building conversions from restaurant to licensed cannabis retail typically require several months for renovation, OCM permitting, and final inspection. A late 2026 opening is a reasonable expectation, though no timeline is confirmed. MN Cannabis Hub will update this article when an opening date is announced.
